Siomay (also Somay), is an Indonesian steamed fish dumpling with vegetables served in peanut sauce. It is derived from ChineseShumai.[1] It is considered a light meal that is similar to the Chinese Dim Sum, but is cone shaped. It is traditionally made from pork but frequently substituted with tenggiri (wahoo) fish meat for halal reason. Sometimes other types of seafood such as tuna, mackerel, and prawn also can be used to make siomay. Other complements to siomay are steamed cabbage, potatoes, bitter gourd, boiled egg, and tofu. Siomay is cut into bite size pieces and topped with peanut sauce, sweet soy sauce, chili sauce and a dash of lime juice.[1]

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Origin and varieties

Siomay is ubiquitous in Indonesian cities. It can be found in street-side food stalls, travelling carts, bicycle vendors, and restaurants. Just like bakso, lumpia, and pempek, siomay was influenced by Chinese Indonesian cuisine. However Chinese Indonesian siomay is usually not served with peanut sauce, but with sweet-sour and spicy chili sauce instead, or with no sauce at all which resembles authentic Chinese shumai. Siomay has been incorporated into Indonesian cuisine for a long time, and the most famous variety is Siomay Bandung. It has been adapted into local Sundanese cuisine. Today, most of Siomay sellers are Sundanese. Another variety of siomay is called Batagor, also originated from Bandung. It is an abbreviation that stands for Bakso Tahu Goreng. Batagor is very similar to siomay, except that it is fried instead of steamed. Siomay is one of the favourite school meal for Indonesian students.[1]